Thanksgiving

“Make a joyful shout to the Lord, all you lands!Serve the Lord with gladness;Come before His presence with singing.Know that the Lord, He is God;It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves;We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.

Enter into His gates with thanksgiving,And into His courts with praise.Be thankful to Him, and bless His name.For the Lord is good;His mercy is everlasting,And His truth endures to all generations (Psalm 100:1-5 NKJV).”

Like this:

“Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands. Serve the Lord with gladness: come before his presence with singing. Know ye that the Lord he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name. For the Lord is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations (Psalm 100:1-5 KJV).”

Share this:

Like this:

Cold Turkey… We use the expression to describe a sudden cessation of a bad habit. We resolve to quit smoking, drinking of alcoholic beverages or other addictive behavior. Bravely, we decide to go it on our own, declining outside assistance of support systems or medications to take the edge off the withdrawal. I think I can, I think I can!

Turkey and Thanksgiving are partners in time. The traditional family Thanksgiving dinner features the fowl and stuffing with all the trimmings. The aroma of basted baked birds tantalizes our appetites, and we can hardly wait to gather around the table to view carving of the golden browned center of attraction.

What do we do with leftovers? Is cold turkey something merely endured until a skeleton remains on a spacious platter? Maybe cold foreshadows our feeling of sadness at the realization that another family gathering has passed and mundane routines will return.

Our attitude of gratitude must never grow cold. We do not receive bountiful blessings by picking leftovers from a dead carcass. The resurrected Lord sustains life and through His gift of grace dishes out trimmings of unexpected joy and fulfillment. I come to Him daily with a hearty appetite, knowing He desires to fill me with His Holy Spirit. Thanksgiving is not a tip on a plate; it is praise on my lips! “Let your lives overflow with joy and thanksgiving for all he has done (Colossians 2:7b The Living Bible).”

Share this:

Like this:

His name is wonderful; his blessings are without number and words cannot express our thankfulness and praise. Children love to share the latest news with their friends; as God’s children we can be just as eager to praise him in prayer and brag on him to others.

How can I find the right words? King David, writer of many of the Psalms had the gift of expressing what I feel. I share his emotional highs and lows, questions and confidence, desire his honesty and intimacy with the Father.

“Praise the Lord! Servants of the Lord, praise him! Praise the Lord’s name. May the Lord’s name be praised now and forever. May the Lord’s name be praised from where the sun rises to where it goes down (Psalm 113:1-3 ERV).”